McDonald's is not the temple to which I am referring

Today I recovered.

I wanted to throw up all day. Talk about misery. I am perpetually amazed at my body's lack of tolerance for all the food American's typically eat. My body beat me up over my recent bad choices. And I get it, I really do.

Did I even eat today? I'm trying to think. Jesus, I'm not even sure. Wait, I think there was a banana, and I know I supplemented (including coconut oil and enzymes). That's really all I could keep down. The rest of the time it was lukewarm water (the best way to drink it, I'm sorry to inform you) with lemon. I did have coffee, insomuch as I paid five whole dollars for one cup of it, then had to throw the whole thing away because as I sipped I almost vomited it right back into the cup. I know you love reading this, and honestly? It's for your own good. If you're eating that way, you're treating yourselves terribly!

The body acclimates to wellness. The body in fact loves to be well and seeks physical attunement and wellness and health in general. And so when we allow the body to be well and to achieve balance, and if we then maintain this balance for a significant amount of time, the body literally forgets what it is like to be out of balance. It comes to rely upon the fine way we have been treating it.

Until of course, one fateful weekend where bars and friends and Metallica cover bands converge, when you find yourself drinking unnecessary amounts of liquor and ingesting whole piles of grease laden french fries. And then the body suddenly forgets all the wonderful things you've done for it and becomes punitive, seemingly wanting to hurt you. And so it does.

Aspire to 80% raw, I am telling you. Stop drinking carbonated drinks, too, because they kill your insides and deplete your bones. Drink water: half your body weight in ounces is a good place to start, and tea and other beverages do count toward your total water intake. Also please throw out your iceberg lettuce, because its nutritional value pales in comparison to other, far superior greens, such as romaine and even better, spinach. Spinach will improve your eyesight, provide vital vitamins and minerals and much, much more. Throw raw seeds and nuts into the spinach just for crunch and pleasure. Dress it with a nice olive oil and balsamic mix, super easy to make, adding a little honey (which happens to be a superfood, not unlike the spinach and nuts) and some orange juice. This makes for a delightful meal, and is chock filled with zinc and b vitamins.

And please, I beg of you, stop eating at McDonald's (or any other fast food place). McDonald's is simply swill dressed up as "food". It is worse than dog food actually, and also addictive. How many times do you put that stuff into your bodies? Truthfully? 

STOP IT.

Instead eat whole foods that actually occur in nature. For example Nutri-grain bars do not actually grow on trees. Nor do Fritos. These things are processed in plants where people probably sneeze right onto them or else wipe fecal-matter-hands all over the things they are handling.

Make the promise today that you will only eat whole and natural foods, in the most clean and organic state possible. And then just do it.

YOUR BODY IS YOUR TEMPLE.

Hard Things

It's been a little while since I've posted on this blog. Since last you heard from me I got divorced, moved from Chicago to Denver, entered and left a relationship and just entered a new relationship with, I daresay, the love of my life.

It's been a long road but I am happy. Wiser to be sure, but confident now that I can do the Hard Things, as I've done so many of them already.

How's my eating? Lackluster. Do I still struggle with my eating disorder? Yes, and I do believe I always will. But I'm dealing with it, in therapy and in my own day to day life. I'm writing a book about spiritual nutrition and still believe strongly in the raw way of life, for the most part. I also believe in having fun, which means cocktails, hot chocolate, cake and some barbecue. It's about not being crazy.
It's about moderation.

I'm better. Well. Sleeping and healthy.

I'm happy.

Five Nutritarian Meals That Taste Good

Nutritarian Meals

1. Vegetable wrap -- Whole grain tortilla with homemade bean paste or hummus, avocado, tomato, dark greens, onion, mushroom, feta/bleu cheese
(substitute wrap with sprouted grain bread or sprouted pita)

2.  Vegetable barley/lentil soup -- homemade vegetable stock, garlic, onion, mushroom, spinach, beans, lentils/barley, black rice

3. oatmeal -- steel cut oats, almond/coconut milk, chia/flax (or both), cinnamon, vanilla, raw honey, raw nuts, fruit of choice, coconut oil

4. hummus -- homemade hummus, vegetables such as cucumber, celery and carrots with which to eat, or whole grain/sprouted grain pita, toasted bread sticks (sprouted)

5. fruit smoothie -- organic frozen fruit, high quality Greek yogurt, raw honey, coconut oil

Insomnia is full of suck

Easy Veggie & Hummus Sandwich

Remember that raw hummus recipe from yesterday? I hope so, since it was only yesterday.

ANYWAY, here's me using that hummus in a easy-breezy veggie sandwich why btw? Totally tasted awesome. I had to make seconds for everybody which is kind of amazing when you realize that it was HEALTHY.

Summer Garden

The sunshine does wonders for me.

I dropped the top and drove around all day, ultimately landing at the garden store. Produce is ridonkulously expensive these days and I prefer to grow my own anyway, where I can. This midwest soil is bananas-good. And so I went and picked up my flats of Roma tomatoes, my sweet basil, my spinach, my (one, for the love of God) cucumber. I'll plant them tomorrow and within weeks will be eating my own harvest. I have to say, there's very little quite so satisfying. I make my own hummus and garnish it with my own cucumbers and tomatoes. I make mounds of bruschetta. I use the basil and Roma tomatoes, add mozzarella and then make tasty paninis . The spinach is new this year (I failed miserably with it last year) and if any of you know me, you know how I love spinach salads. So it's good. It feels and tastes very good.

Sunshine? Also good. You out there reading this? Probably totally vitamin D deficient. Don't feel bad because most of us are. But vitamin D acts as a well-being hormone within us; it actually has the ability to make us feel better, lighter, calmer. Vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to a variety of maladies/conditions. So get your fifteen minutes, people, or supplement if you need to. And eat those veggies. And eat that fruit!

Meanwhile I'll take pictures of my garden and the things I make with my harvest.

Stay tuned.

Each pound, a pound of flesh

I am down nearly ten pounds since this time last month.

It happened pretty quickly, actually, coinciding with a family member's release from the hospital (into my care) as well as the quickly intensifying chaos of my life. Again, and to reiterate, when I feel my life circumstances spinning out of control (i.e., I cannot make it better for my loved one, I cannot stop the inevitable change barreling toward my head) I take it out on my body. And it's not really "taking it out" so much as it is "taking control." My body becomes one of the only things I can control, and this in the form of what I put into my mouth (or do not), how much I move (or do not) or how often I nourish myself.

It's a delicate and ugly dance. Overriding logic forces me to make good choices when I concede to make choices at all. Good choices usually involve lots of vegetables, some fruit and a few lean proteins. It's just that there aren't a lot of them. Choices, that is. Eating, in particular.

I lost five pounds on raw, when I tried it. Since then I've incorporated the raw idea into my meal plans but have not focused on raw so much as whole foods. Good foods. Yet I did lose five pounds eating raw, even when I was stuffing myself with all that good food. And so even eating in that way (something I perceive as quite good for myself), I couldn't keep my weight steady or on. Add stress to that and here I am, I suppose, ten pounds down.

I think ultimately the structure and stricture of eating raw is very, very good for me, because it mimics the control exercised vis-a-vis my eating disorder while still nourishing my body. Having said that, I would give much in order to not need to control anything. To accept life as it is and myself as I am.

That is the work, I guess.

For more information on the truth about eating disorders, please read this article by Carolyn Friedman. I've read through it myself, and while I'd potentially put more emphasis on the media playing a pivotal role in the exacerbation of these diseases, I found it to be extremely insightful and helpful.